Scarred
by NotFlyingWithOtters
Summary: 'You're not the only one with scars, Sweets.' Brennan shows Sweets the scars on her back. Rated T for abuse and self harm *just for safety*.
1. Chapter 1

**I had this idea… it's a little different from my others, the focal point being Sweets. Although there will be a lot of B&B in it. Might be a one shot, probably not, please enjoy.**

**'**_Bones, what are you doing?' Booth asked her quietly, a little in awe of her revelation._

'_You said that scars on the back was a metaphor. Isn't it that's why we are here to metaphorically compare scars?'_

'_I came to bring Sweets back to my place for dinner, that's all.' He muttered uncomfortably, shifting his weight slightly._

'_Scars on the back?' Sweets asked her, his childish face filled with fake confusion._

'_I saw them, Sweets.' Sweets dropped he act and sighed._

'_So ... what? You decided to just share something, from your past? That is so, unlike you.'_

'_I still hate psychology.' She smiled, wiping her face with a hand that was shaking slightly._

Brennan replayed the conversation in her head as she showered, running a hand over the raised ridges just below her ribs.

_Scars on the back_

Not so metaphorical after all.

She shook her head, trying to clear it under the hot spray. The water was comforting, washing away the filth of her job, all of the skeletons she examined, all the murderers that made her skin crawl. She stared at the steam coiling in the air, sighing as the droplets cut through the insubstantial gas. She needed to talk to someone about this, needed to know that she wasn't alone. Well, that wasn't entirely true, she knew she wasn't alone.

Booth had been a suicidal teen, to the point where he would have committed the act had it not been for his grandfather. Sweets was abused until the age of six. And she was abandoned at fifteen. She shuddered, one finger still tracing the scar across her back. They were all damaged goods, but how they'd all found each other was astounding. She reached for the taps and shut off the water, staring at the tiled floor of her bathroom for a long time, her hair drying off in the warm, humid air. Her phone rang suddenly, startling her out of her reverie.

'Brennan.' She answered, her wet fingers sliding over the smooth back of the phone.

'Hey Bones, it's Booth.' She smiled.

'Booth, hi.' She creased her brow. 'Why did you call?' She wrapped a towel around herself and moved into the bedroom.

'Sweets rescheduled our appointment, it's in half an hour.'

'Really?'

'Yeah, want me to pick you up?'

'Sure, ten minutes?'

'Five.'

'Okay.' She slipped on underwear and a pair of black slacks, rooting around in her closet for a shirt. She shoved her cell into the pocket of a tailored black jacket and scouted around, looking for her plain white shirt that had been folded over the back of her chair. As she found it, there was a knock on the door.

'It's Booth!'

'Coming!' She shrugged it on and began buttoning it as she made her way to the door. 'Just, wait a second.' She dragged a brush through her hair and blasted it with a blow drier, turning it a lighter brown. It was slightly damp but she ignored it, grabbing her black jacket.

'Bones, you ready?'

'What? Oh, yes.' She shook her head a little from side to side, unscrambling her thoughts. 'I hate psychology.'

'You're the one that said Sweets could observe us for his book.' He shrugged.

'And write his book, drawing that conclusion…' She fell silent.

'That we're in love right?'

'Yes, that is what I was referring to.'

'You think that it's… wrong?'

'No, I said before; that conclusion is rational.'

'Yeah, rational…' _And right, if only you knew how right… _Booth thought to himself, worried about voicing his thoughts. 'Okay, let's be hypothetical.'

'I'm not one hundred percent happy about this, but okay.'

'Assuming that… idea, is true.' He started. Brennan looked askance at him, but nodded anyway. 'Assuming… assuming you weren't as in love with me as I was with you. Would you run?'

'Hypothetically speaking? Maybe I'd run for a while, but eventually I'd get tired of running.' She smiled. 'This is all hypothetical right?'

'Right. Of course.' Booth nodded, returning his attention to the road and clenching his hands tightly over the wheel until they reached the FBI building. 'Ready?'

'Why do you keep asking me Booth, it's just our regular appointment.' But in truth she was edgy, worried what Sweets would say about the scars on her back, what psychological insight he would give her.

'Yeah… right… sorry.' They left the car park and headed up to Sweets' office and sliding inside. Brennan sat on the couch with her legs drawn up under her, leaning one arm against the armrest.

'Doctor Brennan, your body language suggests to me that…'

'Forget it Sweets.' She muttered, tensing all her muscles, glaring at him with such ferocity that he backed down.

'Okay. Doctor Brennan, Agent Booth, have you explored your relationship more since our last session?'

'We did some… hypothetical speaking.' Brennan told him guardedly, not revealing too much. 'We thought over our relationship, hypothesizing that we were in fact in love with each other.' Sweets looked around and caught the look of pure anguish that Booth was aiming at him, and then the look that expressed his feelings as he turned his gaze to Brennan.

'And what did you deduce from this?'

'Booth asked if I would run, and I said I would get tired of running.'

'So, you deduced that if you were in love, you would run for a while, but ultimately cave and realize that you were in love with him too?'

'Yes.' They answered together. Booth's cell rang.

'You know I'd… actually, never mind.' Booth folded it closed.

'Cam needs a favor from me.'

'Not me?'

'No, it's a… me and Cam thing.'

'Oh.' Booth clapped a hand on her shoulder.

'Need a ride home?'

'No… I wanted to talk to Sweets first.' Sweets looked confused, but covered it as well as he could.

'Oh, okay. Call me when you're done and I'll pick you up okay?'

'Sure, thanks Booth.' Booth nodded and left. Sweets stared at Brennan.

'You hate psychology, Brennan.'

'I know… but… Sweets. You're not the only one with scars.'

'I know I'm not, Doctor Brennan. You made it clear.'

'No, not mental scars Sweets. Scars on your back.'

'What?' He stood up and walked around, running a hand through his hair. 'Why have you never told anyone?'

'I'm telling you now.'

'But…' He turned around to see her shirt pulled up. And gasped.

**I hope you enjoyed this, review for more (: Or don't because I'm going to continue this anyway. Reviews make me happy though (:**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm so mean to Brennan in this! I'm so sorry! But there is a purpose :D I hope you enjoy it**

After a few minutes of agonizing silence and feeling Sweets' eyes bore into her, her scars prickling under his gaze, she slowly lowered her shirt with trembling hands, the rest of her body trembling slightly.

'Doctor Brennan, I don't see how you could keep this to yourself, you trust Booth with everything.'

'Sweets, I need someone who knows what it's like to be in care, knows the pain and the feeling of abject terror when you don't belong.' She bit back what else she was going to say, forcing herself to stop before she went too far.

'Booth was abused as a child.' Sweets informed her.

'I know, but he never… he never went into care with someone he didn't know Sweets… he never knew what it was like. You did.' She clenched her hands together and stared at the floor. Sweets kept pacing, running a hand through his critically short hair.

'You came to me… does that permit me to ask questions, Doctor Brennan?'

'Don't try your psychology on me… just… I need a friend Sweets. But yes, you may ask questions.'

'What happened to you?' He asked, still pacing.

'You really want to know?' Her voice was dull, like many people he'd talked to before, people with a past that scares them.

'Talk to me, Doctor Brennan.'

'I need a friend; please… call me Temperance.' Sweets nodded.

'Okay, Temperance. Tell me what happened.' Brennan nodded, her eyes filling rapidly with tears.

'I was sixteen. My best friend was sixteen… her name was Sarah; she was the only one not scared of me. And she was dying, terminal cancer. Before she died she wanted to go to a carnival…'

_The smell of stale popcorn hung in the hot air of summer, the heat making their shirts stick to their backs and the sticky heat press down on them. Sarah smiled, despite her shaved head and bruises under her eyes; she was filled with life that was only discovered when you found out you had not long to live._

'_Come on Tempe!' Brennan found herself smiling, enthralled by her friend's enthusiasm for the moment, caught up in the swirl of life that crackled all around like lightning during a storm._

'_I'm coming!' Brennan caught up with Sarah and together they walked through the carnival, lights dancing on their faces from the rides, the mingled shouts resonating in the air. Sarah stopped suddenly, causing Brennan to nearly trip over her. 'What?' Sarah pointed at a sign fixed in the ground, her eyes widening._

_Airbrush Tattoos_

'_Something to remember each other by, if only for a little while?' Sarah smiled, dragging Brennan by the arm._

'_I don't think this is a good idea…' Her mind wavered to her foster parents._

'_Oh come on Tempe! You only live once! And not very long if you're me, please do this for me!' Sarah begged Brennan, tugging on her best friend's hand. Brennan smiled; tossing her auburn waves over one shoulder._

'_Okay then.' Sarah squealed and led her to the two woman with the airbrushes and colors, smiling as they paid their dollars and got each other's names printed just below their ribs. When it was done, they both leapt up and admired the loopy curls on the 'S' and 'P'_

_Temperance_

_Sarah_

'_I'm going to miss you, you know.' Brennan sighed when they lay flat on their backs in the damp grass, counting stars. Sarah looked over at her and smiled, clutching Brennan's hand._

'_Don't be too sad… I'll be watching you.'_

'So you got airbrush tattoos, then what?' Sweets asked her, leaning on his hands.

'I went home… and when I got there, he was waiting for me.' She took in a deep shuddering breath, steadying her nerves.

'And what did he do, Temperance?'

'He thought it was real. I shouted and screamed and told him it wasn't, cowered when he came at me with the knife, shrank back against the wall, scared to show my back. I knew what he was going to do.' She sounded distant, cold; but her eyes were the haunted eyes of a war survivor, of someone who has died a little inside.

'He cut you?'

'There was so much blood, it hurt so much…' She trailed off and took a deep breath, steadying her nerves again, forcing herself to tell the truth. 'But that's only that one.' She lifted her shirt again and traced the thick, ugly scar that ran along her lower back, the flesh puckered and knotted where the scar tissue had formed, forever blemishing the smoothness. There was another, above that one, just below her ribcage.

'What's the other one?' Sweets asked her, reaching out a hand to trace it gently. She sprang back, pulling her shirt down again and pressing herself against the leather of the couch.

'I'm sorry.' He shook his head.

'It's my fault.' He stepped back and sat in his chair, steepling his fingers and observing her over the top of them.

'I lost my virginity at sixteen.' She whispered quietly, into dangerous territory now.

'But before you said you lost it at twenty one.' Sweets raised an eyebrow.

'I first engaged in a sexual relationship with someone I truly cared about when I was twenty one, but when I was sixteen, my foster father molested me.' She shredded a tissue in her hands, staring at the dimpled surface of the fabric, waiting for the gasp, the revulsion. It never came.

'Keep talking, you're getting there Temperance.'

'I hate psychology!' She snapped, but then smiled sadly. 'I'm sorry, just… be a listening ear for me. I got pregnant at sixteen, scared, alone and worried, I hid it, kept it to myself. Thankfully, although I know I should have been in a deep depression, I miscarried ten weeks in. I didn't know what was happening, all I knew was pain and blood, and I was lying there… crying. And he screamed at me to stop being a baby, yelled at me, cut me… it made me cry more. And then… his eyes went blank, he staggered backwards and fell… he stroked out. And his wife, who had never known about any of this, never known about the abuse… she came in and saw me curled up in a ball on the floor, bleeding and crying. And she left.' Brennan closed her eyes, clutching her stomach as if remembering it made the pain more real. Sweets handed her a tissue and she took it dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

**oOo**

Booth had finished the job Cam had set him and was walking the corridor towards Sweets' office when he caught sight of them through the window. Brennan was crying, actually _crying _in his office, her head bent and her hair spilling over her face. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Sweets hug her, saw her step back and dip her head to her hands once again. He stormed to the office and flung the door open, making Brennan jump.

'Agent Booth, Doctor Brennan and I were having a session.' Brennan turned to Booth; her face streaked with tears and then found herself in his arms, shaking from the memories and the sobs.

'What did you _do_?' Booth asked angrily, holding her to his chest.

**Reviews feed my mind, sorry for the angst and pain, there will be less in the next few chapters (: I promise. (I might not update for a while because I'm actually trying to write a novel so... sorry if I neglect you for a while)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi, the next chapter is when Booth finds out, or the one after :D Either way he _will _know. Please enjoy it :D**

'I didn't do anything!' Sweets exclaimed hotly, staring at Booth as he held Brennan as if she was something that would break at the slightest touch.

'Look at her! How can you say you did nothing?' Booth shouted, lowering his voice as he felt her grip tighten on his shirt, trapping a little of his flesh and sending spikes of pain from the contact point.

'We were having a session, agent Booth. Sometimes people in sessions experience emotions that cause them pain or happiness.' Sweets floundered, desperately trying to explain himself.

'Well I can see that!'

'Booth, stop.' Brennan muttered, stepping out of his arms. 'I'm okay. Really.' She shook herself mentally and wiped her eyes. 'Thank you Sweets.' He nodded and she turned away, Booth reaching out a hand to grab her. 'If you want to spend the evening in hospital, Booth…' She warned. He stepped back.

'Sorry.' He told her, but she was already gone. 'Spill, Sweets.'

'I don't…' Sweets floundered a little, staring at the floor.

'What happened in here?' Booth asked him frankly.

'That would be a breach of patient/doctor confidentiality.' Sweets told him boldly, turning his back on the FBI agent.

'Sweets, she's my partner!'

'If she wants to tell you, she will.' Booth glared at him. 'But… don't pressure her.' Sweets advised him. Booth turned.

'If she wants to tell me she will. I'll still want to know even if she doesn't want to tell me.' Booth told him. Sweets just shook his head sadly.

'Don't hurt her Booth. She's not as strong as she seems.'

'What do you mean? You psychologists are all the same.'

'What about Mr. Wyatt?' Booth glared.

'Gordon… he's not a psychologist anymore Sweets.' Booth stormed out; already conscious of the time he had lost chasing Brennan by arguing with Sweets.

**oOo**

She was in her office. Well, if he'd thought about it, where else would she be when she was upset? She wouldn't go home, no one there to notice something was wrong. Between his office and hers, there was nowhere else. He knocked sheepishly on the door, alarmed at how distressed she looked.

'Can I come in?' He asked her quietly, already inside.

'Well you're already inside Booth.' She told him, completely expressionless.

'Oh, right… sorry.' He shrugged and stepped completely inside, closing the door behind him. 'What happened in there?' His voice had a gentle tone, and she found herself nearly in tears again. 'Temperance?' She flinched at the sound of her name.

'I don't want to talk about it.' She turned her attention back to the file lying open on her desk, one Booth didn't recognize.

'What's that?' He asked her, not prepared for her reaction. She nearly freaked out, folding it shut and placing her arms on it, strategically covering the name label.

'What's what?' She lied cautiously, a few spots of pink in her cheeks. Booth pointed to the file.

'That. We're partners Bones, partners don't lie to each other.' He looked a little put out, hurt even.

'It's just a file from a while ago…' She looked down and read the label.

_Temperance Brennan vs Alexander Smith_

That was his name… the man that had ruined her life, forced her into a non-consensual relationship and caused scars that ran deeper than the ones on her back; the ones that were less obvious. But he'd died before it ever reached trial. He'd stroked out and died a few weeks later in hospital. She was shaking without realizing it, and Booth was already by her side, glancing worriedly at her.

'Are you okay?' She nodded once, the scars on her back tingling a little.

'I'm fine Booth, don't worry about me.' She shook her head grimly, shoving the file into her bag and standing up, hooking her jacket off the back of the chair.

'But that's the problem Bones, I can't _help _but worry about you.'

'But why? Why do I matter so much to you?'

'You're my partner, Bones. Partners look out for each other.'

'I guess… but still. Don't worry about me okay? I'm fine.' But this time he wouldn't believe her, he saw the bleak look of desperation on her face and it worried him, in fact, it scared him.

'Bones… at least let me drive you home.'

'I haven't got any other way of getting home… thank you.' She shrugged her jacket on and picked up her bag, shifting it so that the file was buried under a load of other pieces of paper.

'It's a partner thing.' He flashed her a smile that made her heart almost stop beating.

'Thank you.' She pulled her jacket closed and followed him out to the car.

'Hey, it's no problem.' She smiled at him. 'And no, before you ask. You can't drive.'

'I'm a good driver!'

'You still can't drive. My car, my rules. Remember?'

**oOo**

'Thanks for the lift Booth, but you can go now.'

'I thought maybe…'

'Whatever. There's beer in the fridge. I'm getting changed.' She dumped her bag on the floor and headed into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Booth, curious beyond belief, glanced cautiously around before tipping her bag a little so that he could see the file name.

'Oh God.' He whispered, dropping the bag as if it was burning his hand. He walked hurriedly to the kitchen and popped the cap off of the bottle and took a long draught, trying to erase what he had seen. It didn't work. He drank again, trying to forget everything. His mind just dwelled on the name of the file. He knew who Alexander Smith was.

Convicted rapist.

Child abuser.

There was only one reason she would oppose him. And the file was dated fifteen years ago. He shuddered. Bones being hurt made his skin crawl, made him feel inadequate as a friend. Why couldn't she just tell him the truth, open up and be like a real partner to him. Because partners don't lie to each other. Booth finished the beer and tossed the bottle into the bin before uncapping another. He just wanted to get hammered and obliterate the memory of ever being _interested _in that file. He heard Brennan leaving her bedroom and uncapped a bottle for her.

'Thanks Booth.' She smiled her thanks, saluted him feebly with her bottle and took a long sip, the alcohol steadying her nerves. Booth regarded her carefully.

'No problem, hey, it's your beer.' She smiled.

'Booth… I wanted to tell you something…' She saw the way Booth was looking at her and immediately she knew. 'You looked…'

'At what?' She walked away and looked at her bag. It had been moved.

'You rat-bastard! How could you!'

'I… I wanted to…' She took one look at his face and ran. 'Bones wait! Please!' The door slammed and he was left alone. 'Damn it!' He muttered and kicked the table, probably busting his toes. He weighed the pros and cons of it, drank the last of his beer, and limped away to follow her; cursing himself constantly as he went.

**Review for my eternal love!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Finally she spills! I hope you like this chapter as much as I loved writing it.**

Somehow, in slight fuzz of pain, he made it down to the garage, relieved to see that in her moment of panic she hadn't taken her car. She couldn't have gone far, especially not in the drizzle. He jumped into his car, having a vague idea of where she would have gone to get away from everyone. He drove around for a while, in the hope of cutting her off and finding her before she reached where she wanted to be.

No luck.

'Damn it.' He didn't know who he was swearing at, Brennan or him. It was all his fault though, he shouldn't have looked at that file, he shouldn't have wanted to stick his nose into her business. It was her business. He mentally berated himself as he pulled up to the curb and jumped from the car, flexing his bruised toes in his shoes before locking his door and beginning his… mission. A sudden idea struck him, and he reached for his cell, flicking quickly through his phonebook and dialing her number.

_Ring…_

_Ring…_

'What do you want, Booth?' She answered tiredly, her voice muffled as though she'd been crying. _Which, _Booth cursed himself for not thinking sooner, _she probably had._

'I'm sorry Bones, really… I am.' He told her, unable to express what he wanted over the phone.

'No, I am. There's something I should have told you. A long time ago… something you need to know about me.'

'You're not engaged are you?'

'What? No. What made you say that?'

'Sorry… look. Where are you?' Booth asked her, and then saw her. She had her head in her hands, sitting on the steps by the reflecting pool, staring into the deep water. 'Forget that.' He folded his phone down and walked towards her, cautious not to startle her, he knew how much that could hurt. She turned her head when he was close, a tired, sad smile on her lips.

'I saw you in the water.' He placed a hand gingerly on her shoulder.

'I'm sorry.' He told her gently, sitting down beside her and placed his arm around her shoulder and squeezing softly.

'No. Booth please… let me tell you something that I should have told you a long time ago… before Sweets drew that conclusion and I got too scared of my past. Before everything caught up on me. I should have told you!'

'Told me what? Bones, you don't have to tell me everything about you.'

'No, Booth. Please. Please listen to me.'

'All right. I'm listening.' She looked at him for a moment, as if assessing his reaction before he knew what it was going to be.

'I was in care, as you know. As everyone knows. And it was bad… they locked me in a trunk for breaking a dish. But that? That was… that was nothing.'

'I wouldn't call it nothing.' Booth told her, leaning back on his hands. It was autumn, the sky darkening earlier, the wind whipping up slightly, chilling the tears on Brennan's cheeks.

'Well I would. Booth, you know Sweets has scars on his back?'

'I remember, Bones. What are you getting at?'

'Well… so do I.'

'I know, metaphorically speaking.' He observed her profile.

'No Booth. Not metaphorical, not imaginary.'

'I don't get it.' She let out a mirthless laugh.

'You don't get it…' It was dark now, and she lifted the back of her shirt, knowing he could hardly see. 'Put your hand… here.' He placed his fingers on the raised ridges, and this time, unlike Sweets, she didn't flinch or pull away. His touch was different. Less clinical, more gentle and caring, if a touch can be.

'Jesus Bones. They're bad, I have scars but none… none this bad.'

'I know.'

'What happened to you?' He kept his hand on the upper scar, tracing the twisted flesh as it curved slightly downwards towards her kidneys.

'Which one?' He pressed down slightly on the top one.

'This one.' The worst one.

'Okay…' She took in a deep breath, and Booth could feel her trembling underneath his fingers. 'I lost my virginity at sixteen.'

'But when Cam asked a good time for young people to lose their virginity you said twenty one, the age you engaged in a sexual relationship.' Then Booth recalled the file. He felt sick.

'My foster father molested me. I got pregnant.'

'What happened Bones?'

'Ten weeks or so in… I miscarried. No one had known about the baby apart from me.' Booth stroked her scar gently.

'It doesn't explain why you have the scar.' She looked at her hands.

'I was crying, covered in blood, I didn't know what was happening to me. I screamed and cried and begged. He came in and yelled at me for being such a baby, for being so loud. And I was still crying, it hurt… it hurt so bad. And then he cut me, slashed across my back and told me that next time it would be worse. How could it possibly have been worse.' She was crying without realizing it, her shoulders shaking.

'Oh my God Bones… I'm so… so sorry.'

'No… no I have to tell you about the other one.' He moved his hand down and touched the other one, nearly a complete rectangle.

'Okay.' Booth told her, still trailing his fingers over the puckered tissue.

'My best friend and I were sixteen, before I miscarried, before I even got pregnant… she had cancer. And one of the things she wanted to do before she died wanted to go to a carnival with me. And we… we got airbrush tattoos on our lower backs of our names, just as a memento for a while.'

'And then what?'

'And I got home… after Sarah had been readmitted to hospital with respiratory failure… and he saw. He thought it was real. But I tried… God only knows I tried.'

'Tried what?'

'Tried to explain it was a fake. He didn't listen and he cut it off… he cut it off my back.' Her voice had gone dull and expressionless, her eyes filled with tears. 'And then Sarah died, the next day. She said I shouldn't be too sad because she would be watching me. She died with my name on her back.' She leaned her head against Booth's shoulder and tried to stop crying.

'Bones I'm so sorry… I wish I could have been there for you.'

'I wish I trusted you more to have told you before this.'

'You told Sweets before me didn't you.'

'I needed someone who knows what it was like.'

'I know… I know.' Brennan sighed and let felt Booth stroke her scars as if they were beautiful, special. He kissed the top of her head.

'Bones, I'm sorry this happened to you. You're such a beautiful, wonderful person who doesn't deserve this.' She felt her eyes well up again.

'Thank you.' _I love you_.

**There will be a continuation of this story when I finish another chapter of some other story. There will also be a B&B kiss at some point in this story! Enjoy.  
**

**Reviews make me happy  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**And we finally get a kiss... :D Please enjoy muchly (and sorry for the delay)**

_A few days later…_

Brennan looked in the mirror, ashamed of what she could see. Her fingers traced the pale tissue that ran, worm-like across her back, pressing down in it until it hurt. She felt her phone buzz in her pocket and picked it up.

'Brennan.' Her voice was flat, dead. She'd opened herself up to Booth and then he'd vanished off the face of the earth, not even having the decency to call her to see if she was all right. She was angry.

'Bones… I…' Her temper flared and she felt her skin flushing. With a conscious effort, she kept her voice steady.

'Booth. What would you like?'

'I'm so sorry I haven't called I was away with Parker… we were… actually never mind.'

'I'm sorry for being pathetic that night.' She suddenly blurted out.

'Brennan… you weren't pathetic, in fact, that night, you were the strongest person I know. And actually, thank you. I know how hard it is.'

'No, you don't.' Booth ran a finger over his tattoos and shivered a little.

'I do actually. Look, can I come over…?' Brennan looked in the mirror again and sighed softly, a single tear welling up in each eye.

'Okay.' She folded her phone down. There was a knock on her door, and she hurriedly pulled her shirt down, tugging at it to make sure it was even. 'Booth.'

'Bones I'm so sorry I didn't get back to you before. But I want to talk to you…' She shut the door as he stepped inside and sat at her table, crossing her arms over her chest tightly.

'So talk to me.' She stared at him until he nodded slowly.

'I was a suicidal teen. You know that, Cam knows it, Sweets knows it; and because Sweets knows… Gordon Gordon knows.' Booth took out his cuff-links and folded back his sleeves, showing Brennan the black markings on the inside of his wrists.

'They're tattoos, I see. I've seen them before.'

'No, Bones… put your fingers… here.' With some difficulty, he placed her fingers on the right spot, just on the top of a small raised bump and took in a deep breath. 'I was a suicidal teen. To the point where I tried to commit the act… on two separate occasions.' He transferred her fingers to the other wrist, where a tiny ridge was, and she drew in a breath sharply.

'Booth… I don't know what to say…'

'You don't have to say anything.' He told her, rolling his sleeves down and doing up his cuff-links again, hiding the tattoos and the scars they concealed from view.

'I do… my God I've been so damn selfish.' She shook her head as though it were enveloped in a fog that was reluctant to clear. Almost absent mindedly, her fingers went to the scars on her back, tracing the jagged lines. His hand closed over her wrist.

'Don't do this to yourself.' He whispered, stroking her hand a little.

'Do what?' She touched the ridge again, as if trying to smooth the scars away.

'That… let me see…' She looked deep into his eyes, and saw no deceit, so slowly raised the hem of her shirt and let him see the full horror of the pale scar tissue. He ran his fingers along it, his warmth slowly warming her back and making her shiver slightly.

'Booth I'm so sorry.' She whispered, tears sparkling in her eyes. 'I'm so sorry you had to be like that, I'm so sorry you were alone.'

'I wasn't alone Bones… I had Jared.'

'No, you protected Jared from your father, you took all the beating for him… Booth… you're such a good person and you never deserved that. I'm sorry.' Booth waved a hand airily. 'No… I mean it Booth.' She bit her lip. 'I'm not good at this.'

'No, you aren't.' She stared at him for a moment and shook her head sadly.

'I wish I knew what to say.'

'You…' Booth suddenly became aware that he was in somewhere he really didn't want to be. 'I… Bones… I think you're a good person.'

'Good people… they don't let people like you get hurt.'

'You didn't know me then Bones.' She bit her lip again.

'I wish I had. I could have stopped this.' Booth shook his head.

'No one could have prevented this Bones. You don't have to worry.' She looked at him with tears sparkling in her eyes and nodded.

'You're my partner, I can't _help _but worry.' She mimicked him from a few days ago. He laughed. 'Where did you go?'

'To get my confidence.' She nodded. The rain pounded on the windows, and Booth stood up suddenly, knocking over a pot on the table. There was a picture of the man that had abused her under that pot. 'What is this?' His voice had gone deathly cold.

'I needed a reminder.'

'Jesus Bones! I thought the scars would have been enough!'

'They are! They're a constant reminder!'

'So why do you have this?' Booth held up the photo.

'I wanted to remember his face. I never want to forget him. The same way I'll never forget what he did to me. But some days… some days I wake up and I can't remember his face Booth. I can remember his name, where he lived and everything else. But not his face. And it drives me crazy.' She sighed softly. 'I need a walk.'

'In the rain? Are you nuts?'

'Please Booth, I need to do this.' She took one last forlorn glance at him and walked out. 'Stay as long as you like.' She nodded, as if confirming to herself it was the right thing to do, and left. Booth stared after her for a moment, then jumped to his feet and sprinted after her.

**oOo**

He had no hope of catching her. She was running before she was even out of her apartment, her feet pounding the carpeted corridors until she reached the outside. And even then she didn't slow down, she kept running through the downpour, disregarding the odd looks she was getting from everyone else in various restaurants and shops. The rain had soaked her to the skin in seconds, but it cooled her down, allowing her to run even further.

After a few minutes however, her legs were screaming in protest and so was her side. The stitch seared across, causing her eyes to inadvertently well up because of the shocks if pain in time with her heartbeat. She paused for breath beneath the awning of a grocery store, shivering now that she was no longer moving. She turned around and walked briskly away from the shop again, her wet hair stuck to the nape of her neck. A hand brushed her shoulder and she jumped, turning around and letting out a deep breath as she realized who it was.

'My God Booth!' The rain was pounding on their heads, making them both shiver at the coolness of it as it struck the unprotected skin of their hands and faces.

'I'm sorry I snapped at you. So… so sorry.' She smiled.

'It's okay Booth.' He hugged her, getting completely soaked through as the torrential downpour continued.

'No, it's not. It's unacceptable.' She smiled a little, fingers frozen solid with the icy rain. They stepped back.

'Booth…' They were so close now, heedless of the rain that was battering their skin and almost causing bruises. He placed a finger over her lips and she smiled. 'It's raining.'

'Captain obvious.' He smirked.

'Shut up Booth.' Booth pulled her into him and she suddenly felt his lips on hers, his arms around her neck. For a split second she thought about pushing him away, but then she remembered the scars, and finally finding someone who would love her with them, and decided not to. She kissed him back harder, placing her hand on his cheek as he wrapped an arm around her waist. The rain chilled them but they didn't feel it, too wrapped up in the moment.

'Bones…' His hands were on her scars, stroking them and gently committing the feel of the raised skin to memory.

'I know… I know…' She pressed her face into his shoulder, oblivious to the rain that kept on falling around them.

**Reviews make me infinitely happy :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, not so much fluff or anything like that, but there is a lot of fluff and cuteness in the following chapters, including summer vacation... :D Please enjoy this chapter, it was a labor of love and it took me forever! I really hope you like it because I don't think it's as good as my others... and I think it's slightly OOC... sorry if it is.**

'What are we gonna do…?' Booth asked her when they'd got back to her apartment and Brennan had provided Booth with some dry clothes.

'I don't know what you mean…'

'That makes a change from "I don't know what that means?"' Booth smiled and pulled at the sleeves of his dry shirt. 'Why did you have this anyway?'

'Just in case Max and Russ stay over.' She shrugged and took a sip of her coffee.

'Don't you mean "dad"?' Booth asked her directly, staring at her over his cup of coffee.

'Fine, when dad and Russ come by, they need clean clothes. So I got in some stuff their size and I guess I forgot to throw it in the trash.'

'Well that's cool I guess.' He stopped talking again and took another sip of the warming coffee. 'I mean it though Bones, what are we going to do about this?'

'I don't know.'

'Help me out here a little.' He rested his forearms on the table and gazed at the wall beyond her head. 'I don't know how you can but… come on.'

'Well I don't see what's wrong with it.' Booth just stared at her.

'But you… you're the one that said about not wanting to be together because the FBI wouldn't let us.'

'I changed my mind, and hoped it wasn't too late.' Booth leaned back and took another sip of his coffee, regarding her carefully and noting the blush rising in her cheeks.

'You hoped?' She smiled a little, hiding behind her coffee mug. 'I mean… you…?'

'I panicked that night… I'm sorry. What are you going to do about Katherine?'

'Undecided… what about Hacker?'

'Hacker and I… we never really dated. We just had coffee.' She shrugged. 'Like we are now, only at the diner instead of here.' She took a sip as if to prove a point. 'What about you and Katherine?'

'We dated a little but we haven't seen each other for a while. She was my rebound I guess…' Brennan placed a hand on his that was resting on the table, placing one finger on his wrist and tracing the scar that traversed the skin that would be smooth on anyone else.

'I'm sorry.' He looked up at her and smiled crookedly.

'It's fine.'

'But I… I hurt you…' She trailed off, still holding his hand loosely. He shook his head a little.

'No, I hurt myself. You weren't ready for it and I sprung it on you. I'm sorry.' She smiled at his thoughtfulness.

'Let's just agree to disagree okay?'

'Right. I want to make a go of this though Bones, no backing out now.'

'Why would I want to?' She smiled again and he leaned forward and pushed a strand of her soaking hair behind her ear with one hand. 'I should probably dry my hair…'

'It'll dry by itself.'

'But it's cold!' Booth chuckled and stood up, scouting around her house for what he was looking for. Brennan watched him with wary curiosity and laughed when he pulled out a blanket. 'No, Booth!'

'Yes, Bones.' She tried weakly to fight him off but really couldn't be bothered as he draped the soft folds around her shoulders. He wrapped an arm around her and cuddled her close.

'Why…?'

'Because.'

'Because is not an answer Booth.'

'Whatever.' She smiled and pulled the blanket around both of them. 'So what are we going to do?' He felt her rest her head against his shoulder with a sigh.

'Does "take each day as it comes" sound like a plan?'

**oOo**

Cam sighed and tapped her fingers against the desk, staring at the door. Brennan was never, ever late. Not even on the day of her father's trial, or the day after Booth had 'died', which she would have understood. So _why _was she late now? Cam drummed her fingers on the desk again and stared at the door. She glanced down at her watch again and groaned. Angela, on her way past, poked her head around the door.

'What's up?'

'There's a backlog of skeletal remains in limbo that need identifying because we don't have a case. And Brennan appears to have vanished off the face of the Earth.' Angela looked stumped for a moment, placing the pencil in her hand between her teeth and sucking on it.

'Have you phoned her on her cell?'

'Yep.'

'Oh… tried her home phone?' Cam's face lit up.

'I usually try her cell, but I'll try her home. Thanks Angela.'

'Oh, no worries.' She removed the pencil from her mouth and vanished from view. Cam keyed in Brennan's home number and raised her phone to her ear.

'Brennan!' She heard after a few rings and a loud clatter.

'It's Cam.' There was a silence.

'Oh God! I'm sorry! I'll be there soon!' Cam smiled to herself.

'Okay, you better.' Brennan stared at Booth as the phone went dead, rubbing her face with one hand and looking crazily beyond him.

'That was Cam…' Booth looked at his watch.

'Oh shit. We need to go.' Booth kissed her forehead gently and buttoned his shirt, straightening the collar in one smooth motion. After sleeping with it wet, her hair was curling and knotted, and she pushed a curl behind her ear.

'Well, taking each day as it comes… lets do this.' Brennan told Booth, steeling herself as she stared past him.

'Sure… lets just… go.' Brennan walked into her bedroom and dragged a brush through her hair, straightening the tousled knots and curls.

'Do you think we can get through this?'

'I don't think it Bones, I know it.' He took her hand and they both left, heading to the car, a hint of a blush in both of their cheeks.

**oOo**

Cam was once again staring at the door, waiting for Brennan to make an appearance. She was so caught up in staring that her eyes blurred and she nearly missed it when she, sorry, _they _came in. He held the door open for her and Cam stared at them, wondering if she was missing something.

'Am I just reading into this too much?' She whispered to herself before dashing inconspicuously out of her office and into Angela's.

'Cam?' Angela looked up with a slight look of bemusement on her face.

'Am I looking into things too much?'

'What do you mean?'

'Look, discreetly, at the door.' Angela looked through her office door and then glanced back at Cam.

'No. No you aren't.'

'So… they're acting different.'

'Definitely. Want me to talk to her?'

'I think that would be a good idea. I'll talk to Seeley. But you know, I really hope it is what we think it is.' Angela's face practically radiated happiness.

'Oh so do I!' Angela was getting excited.

'Though, calm down… we may just be getting ahead of ourselves here.' Cam drummed her fingers on the table.

'Cam, you've seen it, we all know it. Think about it.'

'Okay, I see.' Cam smiled and Angela flashed her a conspirational grin.

**Please tell me if it's OOC or royally screwed, in the nicest possible manner. **

**Reviewsies?**

**They make me happy**

**Love for you all.  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**I know it's been so long, I'm sorry. I'm having a lot of stress piled on me at the moment**, **but I'm trying. **

**For those who care, Forgetting is being written up and will be posted as soon as I can finish it without killing the story.  
**

Booth strode, trying to look purposeful into Brennan's office and closed the door with a quiet click, leaning against it with a quiet sigh.

'Is there something you wanted Booth?' She looked up from her computer and watched him carefully, staring pointedly at the closed door.

'Not really… I just kind of found myself here…' He shrugged. 'Is that a problem?' She looked at him, her face breaking into a smile as he walked towards her, placing his palms flat on her desk.

'Of course not, I just have a little work to do.' She stood up, bringing the files with her and sat cautiously on her couch, kneeling up and resting her back against the fabric. Booth sat down next to her, gingerly placing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her against his chest. She smiled at him and scrawled her signature on the file, her other hand stroking Booth's scars gently.

'Don't Bones.' He reprimanded her and she sighed softly, still tracing the raised white lines. She shook her head slowly, her hair swishing slightly over her face.

'I can't not Booth.' She sighed again, one finger resting on his wrist, directly above his pulse. 'It would have been so easy for you just to not be here any more… for me to have never met you.' She kept her eyes down as she traced the lines. He took her hand away.

'Brennan, you could have died as well, it wasn't just me.' He whispered, his hand unconsciously resting on her back. She shook her head.

'With you it was self-inflicted. With me… I didn't know.' She rested against him. There was a sudden knock on her door and she stood up abruptly, dropping her folder and pen on the floor. Booth relaxed back on her sofa and she opened the door, letting in Cam and Angela. Cam placed her hands on her hips and stared.

'Seeley, I want to talk to you. Now.' Booth looked around, a little startled, and followed her, glancing back at Brennan wistfully on his way out.

'Ange… what?' Brennan asked her once the door was shut, sitting on the arm of her sofa and observing her friend.

'Are you and Booth…' Angela paused, trying to find the right word to describe it that Brennan would understand. 'More than friendly?'

'What? That's preposterous!' She glared at Angela, but Angela matched that glare right back, and Brennan felt her emotional will begin to flag. 'Angela.' Her voice came out pleading.

'Don't try to deny it Sweetie.' Brennan looked at her.

'I deny it.'

**oOo**

Cam placed her hand almost wistfully on Booth's forearm, leaning in and staring into his eyes as if she were his lover.

'Seeley.' She carefully planned her strategy. 'What's going on between you and doctor Brennan?' She carefully emphasized each word and he looked down at his shoes, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in his skin.

'Nothing Camille.' She fixed him with a steely glare that cut through his firm resolve, although he was determined not to show it.

'I can tell by the way you used my full name that you're lying. How long have I known you now? High school? I know when you're lying.' He shrugged and looked back at the office where Angela was grilling Brennan the same way Cam was grilling him.

'I'm not lying Cam, nothing is going on.' He stared at her until she shook her head.

'Lie all you want, Seeley; but I know you, and believe me, I will find the truth.' She walked away just as Angela emerged from Brennan's office, her face stormy, a full embodiment of the flicker that had crossed Cam's face a few seconds earlier. Booth made sure they were both gone, before sidling back into her room with a grimace.

'What did Angela want?'

'"Are you and Booth having sex?" Only a little more tactfully. Cam?'

'The same.' Booth shrugged. 'I guess we need to be more careful.' Brennan looked him in the eye.

'Why though? We just bluffed our way out of confrontation, there's no way we can do it again. Why not just… Hodgins and Angela it? And if we break up… then hey, we can still work together right?'

'No Bones don't talk like that.'

'Like what?' She sat down in front of her computer again and watched him over the monitor.

'"If we break up." Bones, you don't get it do you? We're not going to break up, because I never want to let you go, I want you in my life forever.'

'Booth that is, once again, a complete impossibility.' She told him, returning her attention to the computer.

'I was being metaphorical.' He shrugged and leaned over the computer screen so that his face was level with hers. 'Is that allowed?'

'Maybe, but you have to pay me back with Thai food.' She whispered, a smile playing on her lips.

'I think that shouldn't be a problem.' He smiled and then kissed her gently on the lips. She shuddered as they touched, thrills of sheer desire running through her as his hands gently caressed the puckered and ruined flesh that traversed her back. There was the sound of slow clapping from the doorway, and they both looked up, a very "rabbit in the headlights" moment. Cam and Angela stood in the open doorway, clapping slowly as they observed the couple.

'Okay. So we lied.' Brennan supplied quickly.

'No biggie right?' Booth input, earning a puzzled glance from Brennan.

'No biggie? Sweetie, this is the biggest biggie ever.' Angela told them, trying to contain her giggles as Cam whispered, "that's what she said" into her ear.

'Well we're sorry we kept it from you guys… we just… didn't know who to… tell…'

'We were thinking my parents… and Brennan's… mom…' Booth whispered as Brennan dropped her gaze to her hands. 'It seemed… fitting, you know?' Angela walked slowly around the desk and put her arm around the two of them.

'It is fitting.' Cam followed suit, and for one brief, blissful moment, there was silence. And then…

BANG!

A cloud of smoke trailed wisps out of Hodgins' lab, bringing with it the smell of sulfur.

'What the… HODGINS?' Cam exclaimed.

**I thought the Hodgins bit was a bit of light relief and funny stuff, because we haven't had much of that.**

**Reviews make me infinitely happy.**

**Love you all**

**~ Erin  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi again, yes, I've updated again :D I hope you enjoy this chapter. I love the bit with the rose personally, tell me if you like it too! I hope you enjoy this chapter, another labor of love!**

Brennan knelt by her mother's grave, a single white rose twirling between her fingers, a petal slowly breaking off and drifting onto the dew sprinkled grass beneath her feet. Booth touched the small of her back and they both knelt, her hair falling in front of her face, and she delicately brushed it away. Booth nodded at her, encouraging her to speak.

'Hey mom.' Her throat clogged up and Booth gently stroked her neck with his fingers, his breath ruffling her hair. She gingerly touched his hand and he obligingly knelt next to her, staring at the beveled lettering on the tombstone as Brennan tried to shake the feeling of guilt that was irrationally bearing down on her shoulders. 'I… Booth's with me.' Booth smiled a little to himself and Brennan shook slightly as his fingers traced the raised white flesh on her back. 'Booth I fail to see how this is helping.' She whispered to him.

'Bones. Trust me on this.' She looked askance at him, still unbelieving. He took the rose from her fingers and laid it on the soft grass just in front of the granite stone. She paused and then picked it up again, her skin catching on the thorn and a small bead of blood slowly dripped from her finger and landed, scarlet bright on the fresh grass. She looked directly into his eyes.

'Okay. Mom… I miss you.' Her eyes were swimming with tears and Booth pressed his lips to her hand. 'And… I want you to know that… I don't blame dad and you for leaving me because… I love you.' Booth nodded and smiled.

'You're doing good Bones.' She thanked him quietly, still uncertain of what to say.

'Mom… you never met Booth, I'm sorry I couldn't have saved you. But Booth and I… I know I was never normal in my fascination with dead things, but… I finally found someone who loves me. Mom… I love you.' Her eyes were once again filled with tears, and this time, Booth gently enfolded her in his embrace, as the rose lay lonely and desolate on the gray granite slab. Booth moved closer to the polished headstone.

'Christine? Bones' mom… hi.' Brennan clung onto his shoulder, not in desperation, but so that she could hear every word that was being muttered softly to the ground in front of him. 'Your daughter is amazing, the most amazing girl I have ever met in my life and I'm blessed to have her. Thank you.' Brennan felt her eyes welling up, a tear rolling slowly down her cheek as she tried to stop them.

'Booth… I… I…' She trailed off and couldn't speak. Booth pressed his lips to her forehead.

'It's okay.' He whispered, gently trailing his fingers up and down her arm. She felt a tear slide down her cheek and Booth wipe it away without a single word. Booth had metaphorically touched her heart, made her in touch with what she had lost. She felt her heart race and the blood rise in her cheeks, giving her pale face some color and warming her from the inside. Booth's touch caused heat wherever his skin touched hers and she felt lines of fire running from the slightest feel of him.

'Did you mean that…?'

'Bones. I love you. That's it. There's nothing else to it.' Booth leaned over and kissed her on the mouth gently, stroking her hair with one hand until she finally relaxed.

'Mom… I wish you could be here.' And suddenly she burst into uncontrollable sobs, dissolving completely as Booth tried to keep her strong. Her face as blotchy and red from tears, her hair tangled from her hand constantly running through it in desperation. 'I wish you were here…' She hadn't cried at her mother's funeral very much, and now she was in complete floods, unable to stop or even think straight as grief completely controlled her emotions.

**oOo**

Sweets observed the two people sitting in front of him, watched the way Booth held Brennan's hand gently, almost as if she was going to break.

'So, Agent Booth, Doctor Brennan how is your relationship progressing?' Sweets asked them as they sat together, careful to keep their body language colloquial and at a certain distance to one another.

'It's okay, no issues have risen.' Brennan stated coolly, keeping her composure and her voice flat as she tried to speak.

'Doctor Brennan, are you sure? Your tone of voice indicates that there is an issue that you are trying to keep still and flat. Am I correct?' Brennan chanced a look at Booth. Booth smiled, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

'Well…' Booth started, and then paused, noticing how Brennan was shaking slightly. 'You okay?' He whispered to her, pressing down on her hand.

'I'm fine. Tell him.'

'Tell me what?' Sweets looked baffled. 'Guys, I thought we were friends!'

'Sweets… you're our psychologist.' Brennan told him, crossing her arms. 'Can you really be our friend whilst also psychologically assessing us?' Sweets looked at her.

'I can, Doctor Brennan, you know what I was like at the hospital when you,' He indicated Booth with his hand. 'Had the brain tumor. I had no composure.' Brennan nodded and let Booth's other hand roam over her back almost absent-mindedly.

'Okay. Booth, do you want to tell him?' Brennan asked her partner in hurried whispers. He smiled.

'Sure.' Sweets looked at him.

'Agent Booth, I reiterate. Tell me _what?'_

'Doctor Brennan and I… we are now a couple.' Brennan touched his hand with her fingers and them moved it to place her palm flat on his forearm.

'Romantically involved.' Brennan supplied for Sweets, who was looking completely baffled by this piece of news.

'No, I got that the first time.' Booth pressed his hand against the small of her back where it always rested, always and it seemed forever. It was reassuring and Booth knew it.

'So how did this happen?' Sweets still looked completely in shock, still staring at them both as if they'd grown an extra head. Booth shrugged, but Brennan began to speak.

'I told Booth about my scars. I told him who did it. He knew the case; he knew what the man would have done to me. I spilled my heart out to him and he didn't call me back. And then a few days later he called me on my cell and came over. I have a photo of the man under a pot on my table and he found it. We had an argument, I ran out, and then he chased me.' Brennan relayed the facts in perfect chronological order and Sweets' mouth dropped open slightly.

'Bones, you missed a bit.'

'I did?'

'Yeah, you missed out the part where we kissed.' He smiled his trademark smile. Her favorite smile. Sweets still looked flabbergasted.

'Well, I wish you all the best.' He managed out as they left when half an hour of silence had elapsed.

'Thanks Sweets.' Booth clapped a hand on his shoulder and placed an arm around Brennan's shoulders. When the door had closed, he turned to her.

'Temperance, I need to tell you something. The scars on my wrist… there are others. I told you about them but they may have slipped your mind. I have more…'

**Note the use of Brennan's name? It's going to happen more often. More scars! Means another chapter (yes, I want this to last as long as possible :L)**

**Okay, on an random note, if you review, tell me the strangest place you played Hide-And-Go-Seek. Yes, random.**

**Reviewsies?**

**They make me happy (: (and believe me, I need some happiness, my counselor thinks I'm depressed :D)  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yes, it's been forever, but I hate people who don't finish stories and I realized I had become one. So I removed myself from my hermitness and decided that this needed ending and rounding up and finishing and being finished and all other words to do with ending. I made it slightly longer and I hope you like it (: (It's nearly all B&B fluff)**

Booth walked her home and then, when they reached the door, paused and took her hands gently in his own.

'Bones I want to tell you something.' She looked into his deep brown eyes and felt herself falling, her mind spinning and her heart racing, the pulse in her wrists seeming almost visible beneath the creamy white flesh. She forced herself to focus on what he was saying instead of what he looked like and then snapped into her rational persona with a practiced mental motion. She squeezed his hands and looked into his deep brown eyes, blinking slowly and letting him hold her tightly.

'Tell me.' She murmured, slipping inside the door of her building and crossing the foyer to the elevator, touching the button to go up and then turning back to face Booth. He smiled thinly, his eyes catching a distant look.

'When we get upstairs.' They stepped into the warm elevator and stood in an easy silence as they rode it up to her floor and disembarked, opening the door to her apartment and slipping inside the warm interior. She took his hands again and leaned forwards, placing a gentle kiss on his lips and then let go of his hands.

'You can tell me.' She didn't want to push him, she sat down on her sofa and he sat beside her, a sad look shining in his chocolatey eyes.

'I have told you this before.' He began, exploring for the correct words so that she would understand. She seemed to sense that it was difficult for him, so took his hand and squeezed it gently, staring at him with trusting gray eyes. 'My father… was an alcoholic. And… when I was younger, he used to pick on Jared and I. Usually Jared. And when he picked on Jared, I would get in his way...' Brennan looked at him, felt how tight his hands were holding her, and understood. He made to speak more but she placed a hand over his mouth and nodded slowly, her eyes tear-filled.

'I understand, Booth. I understand.' She raised her head and stared at him, tears slowly traversing her cheeks and rolling down over her chin. He was staring at her too, tears sparkling on his cheeks and welling up in his eyes. 'I'm sorry.' She whispered to him, hardly aware of what she was doing. 'I'm so sorry.'

'It's not your fault, you know, it's not due to you.' He smiled even though tears were still gathered on his eyelashes and when he blinked, a single tear rolled down his cheek. She leaned towards him and rested her head on his shoulder, placing her hand on his heart and kissing his cheek softly. He placed a hand on his back and she found it, sliding her fingers under the thin cotton and gingerly stroking the raised ridges that crisscrossed the usually smooth skin.

'I'm sorry.' She whispered, bowing her head as he held tight to her hand; anchoring himself in the present, not in the past, not where all the bad memories remained. Her breathing altered after a while and he realized she had fallen asleep, her warm body resting on his. He shifted slightly and found himself diving headlong into his memories.

_'Jared? Seeley? Get down here now you worthless pieces of crap.' Booth's father roared; a bottle of whiskey held tight in one hand. Seeley held onto his younger brother and shook his head silently._

_'Stay here, Jared.' Jared stared at his older brother in complete trust and nodded, silently climbing the stairs and slipping into their shared room. Seeley braced himself and turned around the corner, staring defiantly at his father, his jaw strong and set as he walked into the room._

_'Where the hell's your brother?' His father roared at him, holding his thick leather belt in his other hand._

_'Not here.' _

_'Don't take that defiant tone with me, boy!' Seeley stared at his father, gritting his teeth and shaking all over. He knew what was coming. His father staggered forwards and ripped the shirt off of Seeley's back, exposing tender skin with red lines running both faint and vivid across it. The first one was the worst, ripping at the skin and causing a trickle of blood to run over it and flick from the leather of the belt, the belt buckle stinging as it connected. Seeley made no move or sound as the belt hit him over and over, only scrambling away when his father dropped the thick leather belt on the floor…_

Booth shuddered awake, waking Brennan in the process and she looked around in confusion, her gray eyes filled with sleep.

'Sorry.' He soothed her, kissing her forehead and hoping she wouldn't notice the tears on his face. She noticed and wiped them away with her fingertips.

'You were crying.' She stated simply, holding tightly onto his hand and stroking his face with her hand as he regained his composure after a few moments.

'Yeah. Yeah I was.' He didn't want to deny it, but she kissed his lips softly.

'Are you hungry?' She whispered, standing up and heading into the kitchen. He shook his head and stood too, following her to the kitchen and catching her around the waist before dipping her as if they were dancing and kissing her softly.

'No. I'm tired.' He told her, sweeping her back into standing. She nodded.

'I agree.' He smiled and took her hand as they walked into her bedroom, embracing in the center of the room and just holding each other, content with just standing and being in contact with one another.

'I love you, Temperance.' A blush rose in her cheeks and she smiled shyly.

'I… I love you too.' She held close to him and they smiled at one another, their eyes meeting and their hearts racing in unison.

**oOo**

Brennan stood on the podium in the lab, a smile on her face as she examined the remains of a world war one soldier that was in the backlog for identifying when the Jeffersonian was not pursuing murderers or solving heinous crimes. Angela was doing a facial reconstruction and Hodgins was doing something or other with some bugs that he had found in one of the exhibits. The lab was quiet aside from the occasional click and hum of the computers being run by the interns. Brennan smiled fondly as she remembered Booth's pet name for them, the "squinterns". There was a hiss as the door at the back of the lab opened and Booth came striding in.

'Booth? What are you doing here, we don't have a case.' Brennan asked him, turning her attention back to the ribs and spine of the soldier.

'I came to see you, silly!' She smiled and then frowned for a moment.

'I am not silly, Booth.'

'Bones, it's a term of endearment.'

'Doesn't sound as such.' He smiled at her logic, tuning out what she was saying.

'Bones?'

'Yes?'

'Be quiet.'

'Booth!' She smiled at him, already knowing what he was going to do. He stepped up beside her and kissed her, soft yet passionately on the podium. There was a clatter as Angela dropped her artist's implements and came running out and a gasp from Cam. Then a slow clap began, more and more people joining in until it flooded their senses. They broke apart and smiled at one another.

They had faced their demons together, and beaten them.

**Well that's it, it's over (:**

**Thanks for sticking by me and I hope you enjoy this final chapter.**

**Much much much much love,**

**Erin~  
**


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